The EastAfrican VI MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 14-20,2015 cove≥ sto≥y it created a prime real estate opportunity — next to a spring and near attractive hunting grounds. According to David Jacques, an ar- chaeologist at the University of Buckingham, mud was pressed into the pulled-up roots, turning them into a wall. Nearby, a post was inserted into a hole, and that may have held up a roof of reeds or animal skin. It was, he said, a house, one of the earliest in England. Last month, in the latest excava- tion at a site known as Blick Mead, Jacques and his team dug a trench 40 feet long, 23 feet wide and five feet deep, examining this structure and its surroundings. They found a hearth with chunks of heat-cracked flint, pieces of bone, flakes of flint used for arrowheads and cutting tools, and ochre pods that may have been used as a pigment. “There’s noise here,” Jacques said, imagining the goings-on in 4300 B.C. “There’s people here doing stuff. Just like us. Same kids and worries.” About a mile away is Stonehenge. For Jacques, the house is part of the story of Stonehenge, even though the occupants of the Blick Mead home never saw that assemblage of massive stones. The beginnings of Stonehenge were more than a millennium in the future. But Blick Mead, he said, helps fill in the sweep of hunter-gatherers who became farmers and then built Stone- Mystic Stonehenge begins to yield A Discove≥ies in the past decade, some via mode≥n technologies like g≥ound-penet≥ating ≥ada≥, have ≥evealed mo≥e about the people fo≥ whom the giant monuments held g≥eat meaning. By KENNETH CHANG bout 6,300 years ago, a tree in Amesbury, England toppled over. For the ancients in this part of southern England, henge and other prehistoric monuments dotting the English countryside. “This is the first unknown chapter of Stonehenge,” Jacques said. Stonehenge has captivated genera- tion after generation. Archaeologists have over the years catalogued the rocks, divined meaning from their placement — lined up for midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset — and studied animal and human bones buried there. They have also long known about the other monuments — burial chambers, a 130-foot-tall mound of chalk known as Silbury Hill and many other circular structures. An aerial survey in 1925 revealed circles of timbers, now called Woodhenge, two miles from Stonehenge. “The stone monument is iconic,” said Wolfgang Neubauer, director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Vienna. “But it’s only a little part of the whole thing.” Discoveries in the past decade, some via modern technologies like ground-penetrating radar, have revealed more about the people for whom the giant monuments held great meaning. A parade of monuments The story of Britain starts at the end of the last ice age. In the cold, Britain emptied of people. With so much ocean water frozen in glaciers, the sea level was lower, and Britain was connected to the rest of Europe. As the world warmed, they walked back until rising waters severed the land bridge. Around 3800 B.C. the first large monuments appeared — rectangular mounds known as long barrows that served as burial chambers. Around 3500 B.C., a two-mile-long, 100-yard-wide ditch was dug close to the Stonehenge site, what is known as the Stonehenge Cursus. (Cursus is Latin for racetrack; the discoverer in the 18th century thought it was a Roman racetrack.) The first stage of Stonehenge itself, a circular foundation ditch, was carved around 2900 B.C., and rings of timbers were erected. The EastA The EastA The EastA The EastA The EastA The EastA The EastA he EastAfrican VI MAGAZINE NOV African VI MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 14-20,2015 cove≥ sto≥y it created a prime real estate oppor- tunity — next to a spring and near at- tractive hunting grounds. According to David Jacques, an ar- chaeologist at the University of Buck- ingham, mud was pressed into the pulled-up roots, turning them into a wall. Nearby, a post was inserted into a hole, and that may have held up a roof of reeds or animal skin. It was, he said, a house, one of the earliest in England. Last month, in the latest excava- tion at a site known as Blick Mead, Jacques and his team dug a trench 40 feet long, 23 feet wide and five feet deep, examining this structure and its surroundings. They found a hearth with chunks of heat-cracked flint, pieces of bone, flakes of flint used for arrowheads and cutting tools, and ochre pods that may have been used as a pigment. “There’s noise here,” Jacques said, imagining the goings-on in 4300 B.C. “There’s people here doing stuff. Just like us. Same kids and worries.” About a mile away is Stonehenge. For Jacques, the house is part of the story of Stonehenge, even though the occupants of the Blick Mead home never saw that assemblage of massive stones. The beginnings of Stonehenge were more than a millennium in the future. But Blick Mead, he said, helps fill in the sweep of hunter-gatherers who became farmers and then built Stone- Mystic Stonehenge begins to yield A Discove≥ies in the past decade, some via mode≥n technologies like g≥ound-penet≥ating ≥ada≥, have ≥evealed mo≥e about the people fo≥ whom the giant monuments held g≥eat meaning. By KENNETH CHANG bout 6,300 years ago, a tree in Amesbury, Eng- land toppled over. For the ancients in this part of southern England, henge and other prehistoric monu- ments dotting the English country- side. “This is the first unknown chapter of Stonehenge,” Jacques said. Stonehenge has captivated genera- tion after generation. Archaeologists have over the years catalogued the rocks, divined meaning from their placement — lined up for midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset — and studied animal and human bones buried there. They have also long known about the other monuments — burial chambers, a 130-foot-tall mound of chalk known as Silbury Hill and many other circular structures. An aerial survey in 1925 revealed circles of timbers, now called Wood- henge, two miles from Stonehenge. “The stone monument is iconic,” said Wolfgang Neubauer, director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Vir- tual Archaeology in Vienna. “But it’s only a little part of the whole thing.” Discoveries in the past decade, some via modern technologies like ground-penetrating radar, have re- vealed more about the people for whom the giant monuments held great meaning. A parade of monuments The story of Britain starts at the end of the last ice age. In the cold, Britain emptied of people. With so much ocean water frozen in glaciers, the sea level was lower, and Britain was connected to the rest of Europe. As the world warmed, they walked back until rising waters severed the land bridge. Around 3800 B.C. the first large monuments appeared — rectangular mounds known as long barrows that served as burial chambers. Around 3500 B.C., a two-mile-long, 100-yard-wide ditch was dug close to the Stonehenge site, what is known as the Stonehenge Cursus. (Cursus is Latin for racetrack; the discoverer in the 18th century thought it was a Roman race- track.) The first stage of Stonehenge itself, a circular foundation ditch, was carved around 2900 B.C., and rings of timbers were erected. Concrete Concrete posts mark the position of wooden stakes that made up what is now called Woodhenge in Amesbury, England. Archaeological excavation at a site known as Blick Mead is revealing a wealth of items and information. (Andrew Testa/The New York Times) The EastA The EastA The EastA The EastA The EastA astAfrican VI MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 14-20,2015 cove≥ sto≥y it created a prime real estate oppor- tun stAfrican VI MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 14-20,2015 cove≥ sto≥y it created a prime real estate oppor- tunity — next to a spring and near at- tractive hunting grounds. According to David Jacques, an ar- chaeologist at the University of Buck- ingham, mud was pressed into the pulled-up roots, turning them into a wall. Nearby, a post was inserted into a hole, and that may have held up a roof of reeds or animal skin. It was, he said, a house, one of the earliest in England. Last month, in the latest excava- tion at a site known as Blick Mead, Jacques and his team dug a trench 40 feet long, 23 feet wide and five feet deep, examining this structure and its surroundings. They found a hearth with chunks of heat-cracked flint, pieces of bone, flakes of flint used for arrowheads and cutting tools, and ochre pods that may have been used as a pigment. “There’s noise here,” Jacques said, imagining the goings-on in 4300 B.C. “There’s people here doing stuff. Just like us. Same kids and worries.” About a mile away is Stonehenge. For Jacques, the house is part of the story of Stonehenge, even though the occupants of the Blick Mead home never saw that assemblage of massive stones. The beginnings of Stonehenge were more than a millennium in the future. But Blick Mead, he said, helps fill in the sweep of hunter-gatherers who became farmers and then built Stone- Mystic Stonehenge begins to yield A Discove≥ies in the past decade, some via mode≥n technologies like g≥ound-penet≥ating ≥ada≥, have ≥evealed mo≥e about the people fo≥ whom the giant monuments held g≥eat meaning. By KENNETH CHANG bout 6,300 years ago, a tree in Amesbury, Eng- land toppled over. For the ancients in this part of southern England, henge and other prehistoric monu- ments dotting the English country- side. “This is the first unknown chapter of Stonehenge,” Jacques said. Stonehenge has captivated genera- tion after generation. Archaeologists have over the years catalogued the rocks, divined meaning from their placement — lined up for midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset — and studied animal and human bones buried there. They have also long known about the other monuments — burial chambers, a 130-foot-tall mound of chalk known as Silbury Hill and many other circular structures. An aerial survey in 1925 revealed circles of timbers, now called Wood- henge, two miles from Stonehenge. “The stone monument is iconic,” said Wolfgang Neubauer, director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Vir- tual Archaeology in Vienna. “But it’s only a little part of the whole thing.” Discoveries in the past decade, some via modern technologies like ground-penetrating radar, have re- vealed more about the people for whom the giant monuments held great meaning. A parade of monuments The story of Britain starts at the end of the last ice age. In the cold, Britain emptied of people. With so much ocean water frozen in glaciers, the sea level was lower, and Britain was connected to the rest of Europe. As the world warmed, they walked back until rising waters severed the land bridge. Around 3800 B.C. the first large monuments appeared — rectangular mounds known as long barrows that served as burial chambers. Around 3500 B.C., a two-mile-long, 100-yard-wide ditch was dug close to the Stonehenge site, what is known as the Stonehenge Cursus. (Cursus is Latin for racetrack; the discoverer in the 18th century thought it was a Roman race- track.) The first stage of Stonehenge itself, a circular foundation ditch, was carved around 2900 B.C., and rings of timbers were erected. Concrete posts mark the position of wooden stakes that made up what is now called Wood- henge in Amesbury, England. Archaeologi- cal excava- tion at a site known as Blick Mead is revealing a wealth of items and information. (Andrew Testa/The New York Times) Walls, Walls, a circular earthen structure about 1,600 feet in diametre. Michael Parker Pearson of University College London has excavated houses at Durrington Walls and along the nearby River Avon, and he has proposed this is where the builders lived for the grandest stage of Stonehenge’s construction, which started around 2600 B.C. The giant stones, weighing some 40 tonnes, were moved and carved. He believes smaller bluestones, about two tonnes each, had been taken to Stonehenge during the initial construction from the Preseli mountains in Wales and now astAfrican VI MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 14-20,2015 cove≥ sto≥y it created a prime real estate oppor- tunity — next to a spring and near at- tractive hunting grounds. According to David Jacques, an ar- chaeologist at the University of Buck- ingham, mud was pressed into the pulled-up roots, turning them into a wall. Nearby, a post was inserted into a hole, and that may have held up a roof of reeds or animal skin. It was, he said, a house, one of the earliest in England. Last month, in the latest excava- tion at a site known as Blick Mead, Jacques and his team dug a trench 40 feet long, 23 feet wide and five feet deep, examining this structure and its surroundings. They found a hearth with chunks of heat-cracked flint, pieces of bone, flakes of flint used for arrowheads and cutting tools, and ochre pods that may have been used as a pigment. “There’s noise here,” Jacques said, imagining the goings-on in 4300 B.C. “There’s people here doing stuff. Just like us. Same kids and worries.” About a mile away is Stonehenge. For Jacques, the house is part of the story of Stonehenge, even though the occupants of the Blick Mead home never saw that assemblage of massive stones. The beginnings of Stonehenge were more than a millennium in the future. But Blick Mead, he said, helps fill in the sweep of hunter-gatherers who became farmers and then built Stone- Mystic Stonehenge begins to yield A Discove≥ies in the past decade, some via mode≥n technologies like g≥ound-penet≥ating ≥ada≥, have ≥evealed mo≥e about the people fo≥ whom the giant monuments held g≥eat meaning. By KENNETH CHANG bout 6,300 years ago, a tree in Amesbury, Eng- land toppled over. For the ancients in this part of southern England, henge and other prehistoric monu- ments dotting the English country- side. “This is the first unknown chapter of Stonehenge,” Jacques said. Stonehenge has captivated genera- tion after generation. Archaeologists have over the years catalogued the rocks, divined meaning from their placement — lined up for midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset — and studied animal and human bones buried there. They have also long known about the other monuments — burial chambers, a 130-foot-tall mound of chalk known as Silbury Hill and many other circular structures. An aerial survey in 1925 revealed circles of timbers, now called Wood- henge, two miles from Stonehenge. “The stone monument is iconic,” said Wolfgang Neubauer, director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Vir- tual Archaeology in Vienna. “But it’s only a little part of the whole thing.” Discoveries in the past decade, some via modern technologies like ground-penetrating radar, have re- vealed more about the people for whom the giant monuments held great meaning. A parade of monuments The story of Britain starts at the end of the last ice age. In the cold, Britain emptied of people. With so much ocean water frozen in glaciers, the sea level was lower, and Britain was connected to the rest of Europe. As the world warmed, they walked back until rising waters severed the land bridge. Around 3800 B.C. the first large monuments appeared — rectangular mounds known as long barrows that served as burial chambers. Around 3500 B.C., a two-mile-long, 100-yard-wide ditch was dug close to the Stonehenge site, what is known as the Stonehenge Cursus. (Cursus is Latin for racetrack; the discoverer in the 18th century thought it was a Roman race- track.) The first stage of Stonehenge itself, a circular foundation ditch, was carved around 2900 B.C., and rings of timbers were erected. Concrete posts mark the position of wooden stakes that made up what is now called Wood- henge in Amesbury, England. Archaeologi- cal excava- tion at a site known as Blick Mead is revealing a wealth of items and information. (Andrew Testa/The New York Times) Walls, a circular earthen structure about 1,600 feet in diametre. Michael Parker Pearson of University College London has excavated houses at Durrington Walls and along the nearby River Avon, and he has proposed this is where the builders lived for the grand- est stage of Stonehenge’s construction, which started around 2600 B.C. The gi- ant stones, weighing some 40 tonnes, were moved and carved. He believes smaller bluestones, about two tonnes each, had been taken to Stonehenge during the initial construction from the Preseli mountains in Wales and now more, more, larger one Because early language, the si was it built? — h answered. In Parker Pea Walls was the l bolised by the while Stonehen dead. He believ ered at Durring then proceeded our their ancest Last month in Parker Pearson c d t The EastA The EastA The EastA The EastA The EastA The EastA The EastA he EastAfrican VI e EastAfrican VI MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 14-20,2015 cove≥ sto≥y it created a prime real estate oppor- tunity — next to a spring and near at- tractive hunting grounds. According to David Jacques, an ar- chaeologist at the University of Buck- ingham, mud was pressed into the pulled-up roots, turning them into a wall. Nearby, a post was inserted into a hole, and that may have held up a roof of reeds or animal skin. It was, he said, a house, one of the earliest in England. Last month, in the latest excava- tion at a site known as Blick Mead, Jacques and his team dug a trench 40 feet long, 23 feet wide and five feet deep, examining this structure and its surroundings. They found a hearth with chunks of heat-cracked flint, pieces of bone, flakes of flint used for arrowheads and cutting tools, and ochre pods that may have been used as a pigment. “There’s noise here,” Jacques said, imagining the goings-on in 4300 B.C. “There’s people here doing stuff. Just like us. Same kids and worries.” About a mile away is Stonehenge. For Jacques, the house is part of the story of Stonehenge, even though the occupants of the Blick Mead home never saw that assemblage of massive stones. The beginnings of Stonehenge were more than a millennium in the future. But Blick Mead, he said, helps fill in the sweep of hunter-gatherers who became farmers and then built Stone- Mystic Stonehenge begins to yield A Discove≥ies in the past decade, some via mode≥n technologies like g≥ound-penet≥ating ≥ada≥, have ≥evealed mo≥e about the people fo≥ whom the giant monuments held g≥eat meaning. By KENNETH CHANG bout 6,300 years ago, a tree in Amesbury, Eng- land toppled over. For the ancients in this part of southern England, henge and other prehistoric monu- ments dotting the English country- side. “This is the first unknown chapter of Stonehenge,” Jacques said. Stonehenge has captivated genera- tion after generation. Archaeologists have over the years catalogued the rocks, divined meaning from their placement — lined up for midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset — and studied animal and human bones buried there. They have also long known about the other monuments — burial chambers, a 130-foot-tall mound of chalk known as Silbury Hill and many other circular structures. An aerial survey in 1925 revealed circles of timbers, now called Wood- henge, two miles from Stonehenge. “The stone monument is iconic,” said Wolfgang Neubauer, director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Vir- tual Archaeology in Vienna. “But it’s only a little part of the whole thing.” Discoveries in the past decade, some via modern technologies like ground-penetrating radar, have re- vealed more about the people for whom the giant monuments held great meaning. A parade of monuments The story of Britain starts at the end of the last ice age. In the cold, Britain emptied of people. With so much ocean water frozen in glaciers, the sea level was lower, and Britain was connected to the rest of Europe. As the world warmed, they walked back until rising waters severed the land bridge. Around 3800 B.C. the first large monuments appeared — rectangular mounds known as long barrows that served as burial chambers. Around 3500 B.C., a two-mile-long, 100-yard-wide ditch was dug close to the Stonehenge site, what is known as the Stonehenge Cursus. (Cursus is Latin for racetrack; the discoverer in the 18th century thought it was a Roman race- track.) The first stage of Stonehenge itself, a circular foundation ditch, was carved around 2900 B.C., and rings of timbers were erected. Concrete posts mark the position of wooden stakes that made up what is now called Wood- henge in Amesbury, England. Archaeologi- cal excava- tion at a site known as Blick Mead is revealing a wealth of items and information. (Andrew Testa/The New York Times) Walls, a circular earthen structure about 1,600 feet in diametre. Michael Parker Pearson of University College London has excavated houses at Durrington Walls and along the nearby River Avon, and he has proposed this is where the builders lived for the grand- est stage of Stonehenge’s construction, which started around 2600 B.C. The gi- ant stones, weighing some 40 tonnes, were moved and carved. He believes smaller bluestones, about two tonnes each, had been taken to Stonehenge during the initial construction from the Preseli mountains in Wales and now more, larger one Because early language, the si was it built? — h answered. In Parker Pea Walls was the l bolised by the while Stonehen dead. He believ ered at Durring then proceeded our their ancest Last month in Parker Pearson c d t le le a ’r et e f ke tt f se nd ls W a A flint -- coated with a specific type of algae that turns magenta when exposed to air -- that was found in a spring near the Blick Mead dig site, Amesbury, England. (Andrew Testa/NYT)